She has so many choices.

She looks around, and fingers them all.

Snort the powder,

Inject the needle,

Swallow the pill,

Inhale the smoke,

Drink the liquid,

Take the drug.

She has so many choices,

And of them all,

She has picked this one.

She lies sprawled on her bedroom floor.

The obituary will read

Over-dosed.

Her mother screams and cries,

Saying her little girl is sweet,

Smart,

Caring,

Clean,

But the coroner tells her otherwise.

Pluck one long hair from her

Ever-still head,

And read the story she kept

So well hidden.

It started with cigarettes

Swiped from her father’s packs,

Sneaked out behind the house

When her mother was out.

She moved on to joints of

Marijuana,

Paid for by her years

Of baby-sitting money.

Next she took some crack,

Stealing money from her mother’s purse,

And mushrooms picked from

The forest, dancing in her

Birthday suit,

Laughing as colors danced and shone.

She moved on to heroine,

Ecstasy, and then the final show.

She popped some more,

And the play was done.

She had so many choices,

And she picked this one.

She said it was all a load of nonsense,

What those stupid teachers taught,

That drugs harmed you,

And killed you,

When she says,

Look at me; I’m fine.

The coroner looks,

But all he sees is one more

Dead girl,

Lying asleep.

She said it was pleasant,

And fun,

And that drugs didn’t screw your life over,

Just made it slower,

Or faster,

Or gave it a boost.

She said it was all a bunch of lies they tell kids

To keep them from the good.

The coroner listens,

But as he hears is the air-conditioning

Humming, keeping one more

Dead girl

Cold and asleep.

She had so many choices,

And now she has none.

Not even the choice of

Do I want to be ashes,

Or worm food?

She had so many choices,

And now she has none.

She said that drugs didn’t harm,

And that they were fun,

And cool.

The coroner feels,

But all there is is the cold,

Lifeless body of just one more

Dead girl,

Lying asleep.

She said drugs didn’t harm you.

She said so many things.

She said, she said,

But the coroner never heard her speak,

‘cause she’s just one more

Dead girl,

Lying naked on a table

As he stares at the results

Saying,

Over-dosed.

And her mother cries,

And her friends don’t come,

‘cause they’re so stoned

And drugged,

They haven’t even realized she’s gone.